Dying Rose
by SilverDragon14
Summary: This is the reason you should not write things while depressed! After the death of his grandfather, Yugi tries to sort things out, but to no avail; all of a sudden, death looks awfully inviting... Warning: Character Death!


This is a one-shot angst fic. Warning! I may WILL off a character(s)! (well, duh. It's ANGST.)

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Nada. Zip. Zero. So don't ask.

/hikari to yami/

yami to hikari

"speaking"

'thoughts'

scene changes

passing of time

Yugi sat on the floor with his knees pulled up to his chin. His hand shook violently as he tried vainly to push his hair out of his eyes. The days had passed by in a blur. It seemed like only yesterday he and Yami had been playing in the park with Grandpa laughing at Yami's lame attempts to catch the football. What Yugi wouldn't give now to have that day go on and on forever.

Tears threatened to overflow as he thought of what had happened...

Several days earlier... 

"Catch the ball Yami!" Yugi called to his dark half. Yami was getting frustrated, "I can't catch it if you throw it at the tree!" Solomon laughed at the friendly bickering. He was getting on in years, despite what he said to Yugi, so he sat on the bench and watched the two throw the football to each other.

Solomon looked up at the sky and saw the sun starting to set so he called to Yugi and Yami, "It's time to go home you two!" Yami looked disappointed. "Can Yugi and I stay just two more minutes? The shop is only three blocks away." Solomon agreed and started home.

Halfway there, several boys stepped in his way. They had had a good night so far, having stolen a couple packs of cigarettes and several bottles of beer. They were looking for some cash when Yugi's grandfather walked into sight, promising an easy target.

"Kindly let me pass." Solomon said in a strong voice, standing his full four feet six inches. One of them laughed and said, "But we don't feel like letting you go, do we boys?" Many agreed with much shouting like: "Yeah, who died and made you the boss, old man?" and "You tell him, Drake!" This last voice seemed familiar to Solomon, but Drake interrupted his thoughts. "Give us all your money, old man!"

"Not in a million years!" Drake was taken back by this forceful refusal, but regained his composure quickly. He signaled the young man who spoke last. The said person moved behind Solomon as Drake kept the old man's attention forward.

"Maybe we ought to see if we can, how shall I put this...persuadeyou..." Drake nodded slightly to the man behind Solomon, and Solomon turned to see behind him. With a familiar yell, the young man lunged at Solomon, deadly blade out and flashing in the light of the one street light.

He plunged it deep into Solomon's chest.

The old man's eyes were wide with shock, but not entirely from the metal in his heart. When the man had lunged his hood came off, and by the light of the street lamp Solomon saw his face clearly: it was Joey.

Solomon's eyes went dull, but he managed to choke out: "_Joey?_" Joey was startled, "_Gramps?! Is that you?!"_ And Yugi's grandfather fell, dead, to the ground.

_Yugi in his room..._

"Grandpa..." Yugi whispered. Hot tears streamed down his face and dripped onto his arms. Yami was in no condition to comfort him, the spirit thought that Grandpa dying was his fault by asking to stay a while longer. Yugi had hardly seen or heard of him, and this only deepened Yugi's depression.

Yugi wandered into the bathroom, still crying sporadically, looking for something to help him sleep. He reached up into the cabinet and cut his finger on something sharp. "Ow!" Yugi yelped more from surprise than pain. He stared at his bloody finger a while, not thinking anything, and pulled down the thing that had cut him. It was one of Grandpa's razor blades (they still have yet to clean out the bathroom). Yugi's mind snapped.

He placed the blade on the counter and filled up the tub with steamy water. He took off his clothes and laid the Millennium Puzzle on top. The sight of the golden object triggered a thought: But what will happen to Yami? Yugi then remembered that it was his grandfather, his dead grandfather, who had given him the Puzzle in the first place, and that memory drove all coherent thought away.

Yugi carefully climbed into the bath, his breath going out in a hiss as the hot water touched sensitive skin. He looked over at the Millennium Puzzle almost sadly before he tore his eyes away to focus them on the task ahead. Yugi picked up the sharp blade and slowly sliced his wrist, all his worries and troubles and pain flowing out of him with the blood into the water.

Yugi? Are you okay?

'Damn he woke up!' Yugi thought. 'He must've felt what I was doing through the mindlink.'

/Yes Yami, I'm fine. Go back to sleep./

Yami mentally mumbled something about how he trusted Yugi, and went back to sleep. Whatever was left of Yugi's heart after it broke when Solomon died, shattered into dust and blew away at this loving comment.

Yugi blocked Yami from his mind and resumed what he was doing. Tears leaked down his face as he ever so slowly slit the other wrist twice. The bathwater was a watery orange-pink color now, and Yugi was getting sleepy from blood loss. He passed out in the slowly cooling water.

Yugi woke up to freezing water and someone pounding on the front door. Still groggy, he looked down at his wrists. The blood had caked over and it wasn't bleeding anymore. He got angry at this. 'I can't do anything! I can't stick up for myself, I can't stick up for my friends, I couldn't save the person who made up my entire family, and now I can't even kill myself right!'

Furiously he slashed at his entire arm, from palm to shoulder, crisscrossing and zigzagging, and did the same to the other arm. The water turned a reddish color as he got drowsy again, this time faster. The door downstairs burst open, though it sounded muted and far away to Yugi, whose head was spinning. The bathroom started to go black as someone crashed up the stairs yelling, "Yugi, Yugi!"

Yugi felt at peace with the world as his life drained away. He smiled weakly up at the face which swam before him. His eyes fluttered shut, but he whispered to the person: "I forgive you..." He sighed once and died with that peaceful smile on his angelic features.

Joey lifted Yugi out of the tub and cradled him, crying like there was no tomorrow. And for Yugi, there isn't.


End file.
